Spicy Penne Arrabbiata with Chickpeas

Ready in about 20 minutes, this spicy penne arrabbiata is my take on the Italian classic with the addition of chickpeas for a little variety with the noodles. Red pepper flakes are an easy way to add fiery heat to this sauce made with canned tomatoes, onions, garlic and olive oil.

For similar recipes, try my basic tomato sauce with canned tomatoes or my fresh tomato sauce with Roma tomatoes.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

It’s a simple way to change up basic tomato sauce. One of the many reasons to love tomato sauce is because you can put it to use in different ways like pasta, pizza and even for dipping. You can never go wrong with classic marinara, but with red pepper flakes you can add some spice.

The sauce is made with mostly pantry ingredients. Canned tomatoes, olive oil, garlic and onions are typical things that you probably have stocked in your kitchen and that goes for a box of pasta too. With this recipe the odds are pretty good that it won’t require a trip to the grocery.

This pasta dish requires minimal prep work.  All you have to do is chop an onion and a mince a few garlic cloves. The rest of the recipe involves pouring ingredients into the pan and sautéing and simmering pasta in a pot. The sauce cooks in 20 minutes. You can multitask and make the pasta at the same time as the sauce.

The Ingredients

This is what you need:

• Tomatoes: The base of the sauce is a big can of crushed tomatoes, which are somewhere between diced tomatoes and tomato puree in texture. They are already the ideal consistency for sauce straight out of the can.
• Onions: The recipe starts with sautéing chopped onions until they become soft and translucent.
• Garlic: I include 3 minced garlic cloves. Given the amount of sauce in the recipe, this doesn’t make it overly garlicky.
• Red pepper flakes are how you add the heat. Stir in 1 to 1-1/2 teaspoons depending how spicy you want it to turn out. I find that 1 teaspoon gives the arrabbiata a buzzy base level of heat. If you have a high tolerance for spicy food, you can add more.
• Olive oil: For the best taste, use extra virgin olive oil.
• Parmesan: Sprinkle on grated Parmesan once the penne is ready. If you want it to be vegan, use nutritional yeast instead.
• Parsley: Once I divide the pasta into serving bowls or onto plates, I garnish it with chopped fresh parsley. If you have fresh basil, you can use that too.
• Salt & pepper are important to season the sauce in addition to the red pepper flakes.
• Pasta: My go-to is penne, but you can also use rigatoni or another shape with ridges. Depending on your preference, you can also use chickpea noodles or another alternative pasta.
• Chickpeas: Drain and rinse the canned chickpeas before you simmer them with the crushed tomatoes.

Variations

• Skip the chickpeas and use all pasta. If you prefer to keep the recipe more classic, increase the amount of penne pasta to 10 ounces.
• Add greens like kale or spinach. When you stir in the pasta, you can also include baby spinach or chopped kale. The heat from the sauce will gently wilt the leaves.

How To Make Penne Arrabbiata

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet or sauté pan.

2. Sauté the onions. Give them a few minutes to become soft.

3. Stir in the aromatics including the garlic, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. The onions will quickly become fragrant.

4. Pour in the tomatoes and chickpeas.

5. Simmer the sauce for 15-18 minutes to thicken.

6. Cook the penne in a large pot of boiling salted water until a minute before it is al dente. Just refer to the recommended cook time on the package and subtract 1 minute. This is because you finish cooking the noodles in the sauce. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta cooking water. You can cook the pasta while the sauce simmers.

7. Stir the pasta and the reserved cooking water into the sauce. Simmer for a minute.

8. Divide into bowls and top with parsley and Parmesan.

What to Serve with Penne all’Arrabbiata

This is a fantastic simple dinner recipe for a weeknight or a weekend. Serve it with this arugula salad with lemon vinaigrette ot this classic house salad. If you’re looking for a veggie side try roasted crispy brussels sprouts or roasted parmesan garlic asparagus.